1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic package which contains a heat spreader.
2. Description of Related Art
Integrated circuits are typically housed within a plastic electronic package, commonly referred to as a quad flat pack (QFP). QFP's include a lead frame which has a plurality of leads that extend from the plastic housing. The electronic package is typically mounted to a printed circuit board by soldering the leads to surface pads or plated through holes in the board.
An electronic package may contain a high powered integrated circuit such as a microprocessor. Microprocessors consume power and generate a relatively large amount of heat. The heat generated by the integrated circuit flows through the lead frame and into the printed circuit board. The lead frame has a relatively high thermal resistance because of the small cross-sectional area and long length of the leads. The high lead frame resistance creates large temperature differentials that may result in excessive junction temperatures in the integrated circuit. It is desirable to have an electronic package that will provide alternate thermal paths for the heat generated by an integrated circuit. It is also desirable to create such additional thermal paths without increasing the complexity and cost of producing the package.